Locking type clutch



J 1953 Y. A. BOUGET ETAL 2,636,321

\ LOCKING TYPE CLUTCH Filed Feb. 21, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Hill"INVENTORS K A. BOUG T C. E. MAGNUSON .4 TTORNEY Jan. 27,1953 Y. A.BOUGET ETAL 2,626,821

LOCKING TYPE CLUTCH Filed Feb. 21, 1949 v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTORSKABOUGET- c. E. MA GNUSON BY MM A T TORNEY Patented Jan. 27, 1953LOCKING TYPE CLUTCH Yves A. Bouget, West Orange, and C. Edwin Magnuson,Hasbrouck Heights, N. J assignors to Western Electric Company,Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationFebruary 21, 1949, Serial No. 77,594

performing its function during certain parts of the process. Theoriginal driving connection and subsequent disconnection are almostuniversally performed bysome form of clutching action. The

features which are especially needed in such a clutch are positiveengagement and disengagement, and some means of insuring againstaccidental engagement when the clutch is in a disengaged position.

Applicants have invented a clutch having a device which locks the drivenhalf in both engaged and disengaged positions, and which requires apositive and definite effort on the part of the operator before thedriven half can be moved from its locked position. In the preferredembodiment, this is accomplished by providing a driven shaft with twosets of transverse grooves, one corresponding to the engaged positionand the other to the disengaged position. The driven clutch member,which is slidable relative to the driven shaft, contains pins whichcooperate with each set of grooves and "the shaft to allow axialmovement of the driven clutch member with respect to the driven shaftwhen the pins are in 'one position and prevent it when they are in asecond position.

Other advantages and. features will be apparent from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the attached drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the clutch assembly locked in itsengaged position with a partial section. showing the relation betweenthe locking pins and the two sets of grooves;

Fig. 2 is a view of the invention, sectional except for the shaft, andtaken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is another side elevational view of the clutch assembly locked inits disengaged position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and showsthe position of the pins in a locked position;

Fig. 5 is another sectional view taken along the line 4 i of Fig. 3 andshows the position of the pins which allows axial movement of the drivenclutch member along the driven shaft.

With reference to the drawings, the driving shaft of the clutch assemblyis designated by the numeral ll. Driving relation with a driving clutchmember [2 is established through a key I3, while set screw l4 aids inmaintaining a rigid driving relation. H

Projections l8 are formed integrally with the driving clutch member [2and are so sized as to form an equal number of indentations having acorresponding size and shape. Driven clutch member I9 has projections28- which are shaped to fit snugly into the indentations of drivingmember l2. It also has indentations in its own surface formed by itsprojections 20, and into these fit projections [8 of the driving member2. The interlocking of these projections and indentations assures a firmdriving engagement between the driving and the driven halves of theclutch assembly.

The driven clutch member [9 is mounted on a driven shaft 2| by means ofkeys 22. Enough play is present between the driven member, driven shaftand keys to allow axial movement of the driven member with respect toits shaft along the keyway. However, the slight play which is presentdoes not interfere with the firm driving engagement which is presentbetween the driven member and the driven shaft.

The driven shaft 2| contains two separate sets of grooves, locatedtransversely to the length of the shaft. One set of grooves 24 aids inlocking the clutch in an engaged position, while the second set ofgrooves 25 aids in looking it in a disengaged position. Connecting thetwo top and the two bottom grooves are cutaway fiat portions 26, whichlie in the same plane as the bottoms of the two sets of grooves.Shoulders 21, each having a surface A, are formed by the cutawayportions 26, as indicated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5'.

At the end of driven clutch member [9 opposite its engaging projectionsis a flange 30, which is preferably formed to be integral with thedriven member [9. One side of the flange has a flattened verticalsurface 3|, and this surface 3! contains a recess 32.

The flange 30 contains two bores 33 having approximately the samediameter as the grooves 24 and 25-. These bores lie in a vertical plane,which are perpendicular to the length of the driven shaft 2! and to thelong surface of the recess 32. Positioned partially in the bores 33 andpartially in the grooves are two pins 34, which are of slightly lessdiameter than the bores and grooves to allow them to slide freely. Thepins 34 are mounted on a bar 35 as shown so as to form a rigid.assembly, and. to allow the position of the pins to be varied by movingthe bar. Each pin has a reduced portion 36 containing. a surface B; asshown in Figs. 4 and 5. The pins act aid the springs 40 in inconjunction with shoulders 21 of the driven shaft 2| to allow or toblock movement of the driven clutch member is with relation to thedriven shaft 2 l Also positioned within the bores 33 are two springs 40,held at one end by the retaining block 4|, which in turn is securelyheld to the flange 30 by the screw 42. The springs 40 serve to press thepins 34 and the bar 35 to the normal outward position shown in Fig. 4.One end of each bore 33 is of reduced size, forming shoulders 41 whichact to limit the outward movement of the pins.

A collar 43 is located on the driven shaft 2| and is held in a fixedposition in relation to the driven shaft by means of the set screw 44.The collar 43 serves as a rigid retainer for spring 45 which ispositioned on the driven shaft 2| between the collar 43 and the flange30. The spring 45 has the function of normally urging the driven clutchmember [9 away from its disengaged position and toward its engagedposition.

In the actual operation of the invention, assume that the driven clutchmember I9 is in an engaged position, and that it is desired to move itto a disengaged position. To accomplish this, the bar 35 is pressedinwardly as far as it will go. The two pins 34 are forced inwardly acorresponding distance, and the surface B of the reduced portion 36 ofthe pins now clears thev surface A of the driven shaft shoulder 21. Theentire driven clutch member including the integral flange may now bemoved axially to the right with respect to the driven shaft 2|. Whenthis has been done, and the pins 34 have reached a point where they lineup with the set of slots corresponding to the disengaged position, thedriven member may be locked in the disengaged position by releasing thepressure from the bar 35. The springs 40 will then force the pins 34 andbar 35 to their normal outward position, and in so doing, the reducedportions 36 of the pins are moved accordingly. The surfaces B of thesereduced portions no longer clear surfaces A of the shoulders 21 and thedriven clutch member becomes blocked from movement in one direction byshoulders 21 and from movement in the other direction by the sides ofgrooves '25. Thus, by releasing the bar 35, the driven 'clutch member iseffectively locked in its disengaged position.

When it is desired to engage the driving and driven halves of theclutch, the bar 35 is pressed inwardly which, as previously explained,allows the driven clutch member to be moved relative to the shaft. Thedriven member is then moved along the shaft to its engaged position,where it is locked in this position by releasing the pressure on thebar.

The spring 45 is used to aid in the engagement action by normally urgingthe driven clutch member towards its position of engagement. Inaddition, since this urging action prevents the driven member from beingat its disengaged position unless it is forcibly moved thereto, thespring acts as a safety feature by requiring a definite effort on thepart of the operator to move the driven member from its engaged positionto one of disengagement.

It will be noted that the entire locking mechanism rotates with thedriven half of the clutch. This, however, presents no problem as thecentrifugal force involved is in such direction as to keeping the pinsin their outwardly locked position.

The use of the locking feature which is the basis of the inventioninsures against having the driven clutch member accidentally forced intoand out of engagement, since the lock must be purposefully releasedbefore the driven clutch member can move relative to the driven shaft.In addition, the releasing force is at right angles to the forcerequired to move the driven member along the shaft which makes itpractically impossible for a given unidirectional force to move thedriven half accidentally.

The actual operation of unlocking the driven member, moving it to thedesired position and locking it there requires little force, whichobviates any requirement of an outside force or tools to move the drivenhalf into and out of its clutched position.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simplyillustrative of the application of the principles of the invention.Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled inthe art which will embody the principles of the invention and fallwithin the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A locking mechanism for a member slidably mounted on a rotatableshaft, said mechanism comprising a pin in the member, said pin having arecessed section, two transverse grooves in the shaft for receiving thepin and locking the member in either of two positions on the shaftagainst movement axially or rotatably relative to the shaft, a relievedsection on the shaft between adjacent ends of the grooves to permitpassage of the pin from one groove to the other and resilient meansnormally holding the recessed section of the pin out of alignment withthe relieved section of the shaft.

2. A locking mechanism for a member slidably mounted axially on arotatable shaft, the mechanism comprising a pin movably mounted in themember transversely of the axis thereof and having a locking portion anda recess disposed in another portion thereof extending beyond theperiphery of the shaft, two transverse grooves in the shaft forreceiving singly the locking portion of the pin for locking the memberin either of two positions on the shaft against movement axially orrotatably relative to the shaft, and a relieved section on the shaftbetween adjacent ends of the grooves to permit passage of the lockingportion of the pin from one groove to the other while the recessedportion of the pin passes by the periphery of the shaft between thegrooves.

3. A locking mechanism for a member slidably mounted axially on arotatable shaft, the mechanism comprising a pin movably mounted in themember transversely of the axis thereof and having a locking portion anda recess disposed in another portion thereof extending beyond theperiphery of the shaft, two transverse grooves in the shaft forreceiving singly the looking portion of the pin for locking the memberin either of two positions on the shaft against movement axially orrotatably relative to the shaft, and a relieved section on the shaftbetween adjacent ends of the grooves to permit passage of the lockingportion of the pin from one groove to the other while the recessedportion of the pin passes by the periphery of the shaft between thegrooves, resilient means normally urging the pin into locking position,and means actuable to move the pin into its unlocked position normallyaffected by centrifugal force during rotation of the shaft and member toassist the resilient means in urging the pin into its locking position.

4. A locking mechanism for a member slidably mounted axially on arotatable shaft, the mechanism comprising parallel pins movably mountedin the member transversely and diametrically opposed with respect to theaxis and having locking portions and recesses disposed in other portionsthereof extending beyond the periphery of the shaft, two sets ofdiametrically opposed grooves in the shaft for selectively receiving thelocking portions of their pins for jointly locking the member in eitherof two positions on the shaft against movement axially or rotatablyrelative to the shaft, and relieved sections on the shaft betweenadjacent ends of the grooves to permit passage of the locking portionsof the pins from one pair of diametrically aligned grooves to the otherwhile the recessed portions of the pins pass by the periphery of theshaft between the pairs of grooves.

5. A locking mechanism for a member slidably mounted axially on arotatable shaft, the mechanism comprising parallel pins movably mountedin the member transversely and diametrically opposed with respect to theaxis and having looking portions and recesses disposed in other portions thereof extending beyond the periphery of the shaft, two sets ofdiametrically opposed grooves in the shaft for selectively receiving thelocking portions of their pins for jointly locking the member in eitherof two positions on the shaft against movement axially or rotatablyrelative to the shaft, and relieved sections on the REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

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